Monday, May 20, 2013

Tuna packed in olive oil with marinated artichoke hearts, lemon, and fresh basil on baguettes makes a scrumptious, no mayonnaise twist on tuna sandwiches. Perfect for toting on picnics or hikes, to work, or just out to the backyard (easy Four Hour French Baguette recipe here).

We love sandwiches. We eat so many sandwiches that we often go through two loaves of homemade sandwich bread each week, and there are only two of us. We also love potato chips. So when my publishing network, BlogHer, asked if I was interested in sharing a sandwich recipe as part of a Perfect Picnic Pairing campaign with Kettle Brand chips, I knew they'd come to the right blog.

Whenever we leave the farm for more than an hour or two, which is most of the time, I pack sandwiches for a picnic lunch. Since I put everything in a cooler with ice rather than in a basket, the idea of cooler-pressed sandwiches made me smile.

You assemble these sandwiches and then pack them in the bottom of the cooler so that the weight of the other contents compresses the sandwiches and allows the juices to soak into the bread. They travel well, taste delicious, and can be made several hours ahead. I even like them the next day, when the lemon flavor is more pronounced. I'd never tried tuna sandwiches without mayonnaise, but now I'm hooked.

Eating at home or toting your sandwiches to work the next day? Simply press them under a cast iron skillet weighted down with cans of food or a tea kettle of water.

Look for marinated artichoke hearts that list oil before water in the ingredients.

3. Remove some of the interior crumb from the two top halves of the baguette, then spoon any excess juice from the tuna mixture evenly over them.

4. Spread the bottom half of each sandwich with the tuna mixture, then scatter the basil leaves over it (I like a lot of basil on mine). Place the tops on each sandwich.

5. Wrap the sandwiches tightly in waxed paper, then in aluminum foil.

6. Place the sandwiches at the bottom of your picnic cooler so the weight of the other contents compress the sandwich and allows the juices to soak into the bread.

Alternatively, place the sandwiches on the counter (unless you have a lot of empty space in your refrigerator) and set a cast iron skillet on top of it. For added weight, put a tea kettle full of water or a few cans of food in the skillet. Press the sandwiches for about 30 minutes.

These sandwiches can be chilled for several hours before serving, but you probably don't want to keep them at the bottom of the cooler for more than an hour or so.

My small son is all about the picnics (probably because then he doesn't have to go into the boring house and sit at the boring table to eat). He usually gets peanut butter on bread because, well, he's three and a messy eater and I also have a ten-month-old so no time to make this delicious tuna sandwich. Which the three-year-old would actually love because he loves fish in any guise and vinegary things. That's my boy.

Sea salt is my favorite, but we are loving jalapeno too! Susan, this tuna with no mayo looks amazing! In fact the whole picnic looks amazing. Now we would picnic with egg salad as the girls have been working overtime :)!

A pasta salad. I don't have a recipe I just use whatever is floating around my refrigerator, canning closet and garden. The only constant is, well, pasta. If it includes meat or enough cheese it's a complete meal. Salt and Pepper are my favorite Kettle chips.

I almost always pack sandwiches, or anything that we can easily eat with our hands- no utensils at picnics! Power balls, cookies, carrot sticks .. simple is key. I am a traditionalist with potato chips. Simply plain and salted for me.

Jackie in MD Sliced roast beef with horseradish sauce. separate containers so it doesn't get soggy . strawberries, blueberries and grapes mixed together as fruit salad, crackers and cheese and cookies for dessert.opossun505ATyahooDOTcom

My favorite picnic basket food is Chicken Salad sandwiches with Deveiled Eggs and of course Sea Salt and Vinegar Kettle chips! Dessert is filled with blueberry strawberry cheesecake in Mason Jars for each as we gather, and of course top it off with Strawberry Lemonade.

I like to make tuna with mayo and sour cream.I also include diced tomatoes, jalapenos, white onions.We eat the creamy tuna salad with crackers. My favorite chips are Kettle Vinegar and Salt. I also enjoy Poore Brothers Jalapeno.

My sandwiches are usually meat, cheese, lettuce, homemade pickle slices and mayo on mine, mustard on Joe's. I also love to add avocado and sprouts if I have them on hand. Plain chips are my favorite.Cannot wait to try this sandwich!!!

Our favorite picnic always includes a loaf of fresh bread, a roasted chicken, and a huge wedge of brie. Marinated asparagus, too, if we can find it. And I polished off a bag of Buffalo Bleu just this past weekend! By. Myself. Soooo yummy!

Back in 1976 my little family lived in Michigan. Every Sunday after church we went to the same place and had a picnic. We always took the same things.....cold cuts, chips(before Kettle Chips), can of Van Camp pork and beans, cookies, always pickles, and apples, always Wonder Bread. Michigan has lots of apples! Those are some of my favorite memories of my children. It was a " place in time". Moms and Dads, your children grow up so quickly....make some wonderful memories while they are young. My children are 43, 40, and 38. In 2013 give me some Kettle Chips Original...my favs. Lee Kwilternc@nc.rr.com

I'm not a huge fan of sandwiches but I like to build little cold pizzas with salami, pitas, pizza sauce, and fresh mozzarella. The Bakes Sea Salt & Vinegar chips would be great with the pizzas. And, of course, we'd have some big chocolately brownies for dessert.

I like the idea of a no-mayo tuna sandwich and I love artichoke hearts. :)My favorite picnic food is a sandwich made with soft goat cheese, sprouts and tomato on multigrain bread, all homemade and homegrown of course! My favorite Kettle Chips are the ones with the black pepper, yum!calicocandy1958 at gmail dot com

As a matter of fact, we just got back from a rode trip and we always bring a picnic. We brought egg salad sandwiches, grapes, and cottage cheese. We love Kettle Chips and usually have either the Jalapeno or the Sea Salt. Thanks, Susan. aseasononthemountain at gmail dot com

Love this recipe-and the no mayo approach. We have picnic nights all the time here at the cabin-especially when it is hot and no one feels like grilling or cooking. We normally have prosciutto and melon, 3 cheeses, fresh home made bread, olives and tabouleh and/or hommus. Sometimes I get it together to make tapenade or pesto (and buy local tomatoes in season). But we are huge fans of picnics, whatever the occasion.

But now I'm going to try your sandwich, maybe with some black olives for a nicoise feel, and I would buy salt and vinegar chips. Actually I would eat these before they ever made them home, but whatever.

Oh, how I enjoyed *sharing* this picnic with you! Wonderful! Our picnics (every season, often indoors, too) include roast beef-cheese-pickles on home-made baguette (one of your recipes), salad (typically greens, with some pistachios, carrots, celery, tomato, cheese, olives added), and always, always potato chips! Kettle is a 'recent' find for us - and as we're 'plain' folks, we go with those. Yummy! In fact, I think my dinner plans for tonight have just been made...Love your site, Sue - I've been a follower for close to four years now!!cmayne@shaw.ca

I love tuna sandwiches, too. Since I live near the Pacific Ocean where tuna is readily available and sold right off the boats in most ports on the coast. So, I home can albacore tuna nearly every summer and I grow Walla Walla sweet onions in my garden. Did you know that canned tuna and Walla Walla sweet onions were meant for each other? I chop the onions, add them and a jar of my canned tuna in a bowl and a nice dollop of mayo. Mix well. Now, you are ready to make the sandwich with bread of choice. Top with bread and butter pickles, or not, but they are another good choice with tuna. This mix will yield 3 thick sandwiches or 4 thin ones. Be sure to add Kettle Chips for the perfect meal. I like the plain unflavored ones for my tuna sandwiches. The saltiness of the chips are perfect with my tuna/sweet onion sandwiches.

We take a large sized loaf of crusty bread,hollow it out and build an italian hoagie inside it with boar's head meats and cheeses.Sea salt chips would go perfectly.Don't forget the pickles and six pack of favorite beer.Lisapincushionqueen at comcast dot net

We usually pack ham and/or turkey sandwiches with chips and Little Debbie chocolate cookie packs. I've never tried the Kettle chips. I think I would like the sea salt variety. debgirotti at gmail dot com

While I'm not much for picnics, per se, when I take the grandkids on a walk to the local park we often bring along some eats. Personally, The Salt & Pepper or (in deference to my Canadian friends) Vinegar Chips would be just fine, but I'm afraid I'd probably be over-ruled in favor of more flavor?

The kids say they like Deviled Eggs, but they only eat the whites. (Fine by me) Cookies or muffins, or maybe Banana Bread, and perhaps some Blueberries or Strawberries would be nice.

The concession stand at the park sells foot-long Free-Zees to quench ones' thirst after a long walk, play session, and eating salty chips.

Although we had 37 degrees this morning (with frost warnings!) the sun is out now and it's supposed to warm up to about 60 today. A trip to the park is not out of the question.

I like to pack a watermelon, feta and mint salad. I love the original Kettle Chip but put them in my sandwich just before eating it for a great crunch ! Whole Wheat Rye with avocado, tomato, turkey and perhaps some minted mayo. Some dark chocolate for desert !

I'm partial to the sea salt and vinegar Kettle Chips, but they're all tasty. As for the picnic basket, I always take sandwiches (like this delicious tuna sandwich you posted!), jars of iced tea I make just for the occasion, fruit salad, and beer (or wine). I like to throw in a few snacks, just depending on what I have around. I usually try to avoid a bunch of stuff that will require heavy duty manhandling to eat or assemble, just because out on picnics I tend to touch dirty things and I don't want to eat my germs.

We usually pack ham and turkey sandwiches, chips, and Little Debbie Swiss Rolls. :) I'm sure at one time I've tried the Kettle chips...but I'm really not familiar with them...will have to check them out next time I'm at the store. debgirotti at gmail dot com

I usually just pack what ever we have in the house, but your tuna recipe lots amazing! I love those artichokes too! What an excellent combo! I will try it this weekend :) We also love Kettle chips, they are so crunchy! Salt and pepper, or just plan. I also love you Farmgirl! I moved to Dublin OH from Los Angeles and your story is so inspiring :) grbenjamin@aol.com

Pesto, roasted red pepper, and grilled zucchini on a baguette with sea salt and vinegar kettle chips. But I'll have to try this as I love the idea of tuna without mayo so that it'll probably hold up to the heat of a hike better. Thanks for the post! k_winkleblack at yahoo dot com

Besides whatever we're hungry for, I like to have a container of baby wipes with the picnic basket. Also, if my basket is actually a cooler, I try to put all my food in sturdy containers and lay my ice packs on top of the food. Since cold air moves down, this tends to keep the food cold longer. Cover the ice packs with a towel to add extra insulation.Salt and vinegar is my favorite kettle chip flavor!

I love packing quinoa in a picnic. It's so versatile. It can be savory or sweet, served warm or hot. My favorite right now is warm quinoa with cotija cheese (mexican sheeps cheese aka queso fresca) and avocado and arugula. Toss together with salt and pepper and voila! Bon appetite!

Picnic lunch for me usually includes great dill pickles, my pasta salad made with pesto dressing, and of course great bread either by itself or for sandwiches. Sea salt and vinegar Kettle Chips are great in the sandwiches for an extra crunch!mdunajski at gmail dot com

Chunks of Fresh Pineapple, Strawberries, Watermelon, slices of Swiss Cheese or Amish Cheese, Fresh baked Multi Grain Crusty Bread, a container of Homemade butter, Some Kettle Chips ( I like Plain so I can dip them in all sorts of Flavored Dips), Some Homemade Bread and Butter Pickles, A container of Warm Chocolate Frosted Brownies and a Home made Apple Pie from my Grandma Benson's Recipe. and a Jug of Iced Lemonade....

I love the Salt & Pepper Kettle Chips with smoked pimenton/garbanzo bean dip. I like to take brie and sun dried tomato sandwiches on a picnic alongside a vinegary potato salad with tons of parsley and red onion.

When I eat outdoors, it's usually part of hike, so I love to come across good no-mayo recipes like this. I also like to pack hard-boiled eggs, fruit, and a homemade cookie of some sort.

I had never been to the Kettle Chips site before, although of course I'm familiar with them. They offer quite a variety! I'm usually a plain, classic chip kind of gal, but some of these, like the baked potato, might have to grace a fall picnic this year. (Fall because it's way too hot for summer picnics where I live!)

I love picnics (and breakfast for dinner!). What I pack depends on my mood and what's in the fridge. This week, it was home-grown, home-smoked turkey (Yum!) and fresh fruit.

I love Kettle Chips, especially the sweet onion, but potato chips are the one thing in the world that I have NO self control with, so I try not to buy them unless I'm going to a potluck, otherwise I eat the whole bag by myself.

I like to make a frittata with sun dried tomatoes and basil, sometimes even adding garlic and peppers. It is great cold and slices nicely into wedges! Then fruit is big with us too! We also like a cookie or brownie for that sweet and chocolate fix we all love! The chips would be the cheddar ones, my favorite! Thank you for e chance to win!

We have locally made ollalieberry pies that are perfect for picnicking! I also love pate and crusty french bread, ham and butter sandwiches also on baguette (along with those little cornichons! mmm, mmm,) so apparently my picnic style is french! LOL. I also make a quinoa salad with fresh veggies and a mustard vinaigrette: radishes, celery, carrots, green beans, cukes, zukes, kidney beans or garbanzo beans, scallions, cherry tomatoes...it's pretty darn fab and really a main dish salad on its own. A big potluck favorite!

My favorite Kettle chip is the sour cream and onion, but I like the plain ones and the salt & vinegar ones too.

Since I'm somewhat of a food borne illness worry wart, I usually pack a creative peanut butter and jelly sandwich using different types of bread and spreads. My absolute favorite is a toasted (bread from bakery at Target Deli) peanut butter and raspberry jam wrapped in tin foil. For sides, I always pack 2 whole fruit choices and veggies with ranch dip in a container.

e-mail: lmetzger85@gmail.comFav Kettle chip: jalepeno....I had no idea they had so many flavors, I'll have to keep my eyes open!

December 2015 update: Hi! For some reason I can't figure out, Blogger hasn't been letting me leave comments on my own blog (!) for the last several months, so I've been unable to respond to your comments and questions. My apologies for any inconvenience! You're always welcome to email me: farmgirlfare AT gmail DOT com.

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